The St. Louis Blues battled the New York Islanders in the second game of their back-to-back homestead. They looked to improve their winning streak to four games.

Photo: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports​Like the previous night, Vladimir Tarasenko struck first with his deadly wrister to give the Blues a one-goal lead 7:23 into the game. Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Steen assisted his power play goal.

About five minutes into the second period, Alexander Steen collected a deflection from Tarasenko’s shot, then buried it to extend the Blues’ lead to 2-0.

Brock Nelson stumped the Blues’ momentum with a goal 11:37 into the second period, but the Blues were just warming up.

Tarasenko netted his second of the game and 32nd of the season with 4:32 remaining in the second period. His hunt for 40 has become reachable with three goals in his last two games.

With two minutes to go in the period, David Perron found Patrik Berglund crashing the net. Berglund settled the puck and maneuvered around Thomas Greiss before sliding in his 19th goal of the season.

Despite Islander goals from Anthony Beauvillier and Nick Leddy in the third period, the Blues escaped another tight game by a final score of 4-3.

“That was a good win,” explained Steen. “Obviously it starts with goaltending. Solid goaltending again.”​“It’s a huge win for us against a tough hockey team,” said Carter Hutton. “It’s what we’re here for; points.”

The back-to-back wins improve St. Louis’ record to 35-27-5, giving them three more points than the L.A. Kings (72). On Monday, the Blues will meet the Kings in L.A. at 9:00 p.m.

“It’s so simple; we need these points,” said Tarasenko of this upcoming road trip. “Especially with these tough opponents—it’s going to build our confidence.”